A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
